Combat Athletes: Coaching Tips and Training Errors

Posted on Jul 04, 2017

Guest writer Andrew Wood talks about overtraining in combat sports.

MMA and combat sports in general are some of the toughest sports on the planet; hands down the athletes are as well rounded as they come. However, the problem with MMA in particular is you have so many disciplines to learn/keep fresh in your mind that you could literally fill your day with training. Learning and acquiring new skills as well as keeping your body in optimal condition, is a must.

I get it – I get where these athletes are coming from and I think most of us who have been in or around a professional training environment would understand the pressures and drive to succeed these guys endure. That said, I’ve seen top level amateurs (with day jobs) who are often only able to train at night, in better shape than some professionals. This is due to frequency - amateurs only have those select hours at night or in the morning to train, but once the athlete turns professional they seem to think training hard 4-5 times per day is now a must - it isn’t.

If you’re training like this, then you are not giving yourself a chance to recover, beating your body down further from session to session. "But woody I’m a professional, it is my job to train" – I’ve heard this from countless top level guys when myself and the other head coaches at Tiger Muay Thai have set out a plan for them which they think isn’t challenging enough. Correct! You are a professional and it is your job to train, but it is also your job to recover, eat right and be smart with your training.

It is important to remember the magic happens when you’re away from the gym – if you recover correctly, then you will feel great going into the next day’s training.

I usually explain this to my guys by asking a simple question every time they train – “How do you feel? No bullshit, how do you feel from 1-10?”. The replies vary initially, but are usually around a 5/6 (a number I know clients sometimes place higher, especially if I've sent them home for being too tired before). I asked one guy “Do you not think it would be better if we cut your training down? So that when you train you're at a 7/8/9, rather than doing 4 sessions at a 5? Just give it a go”. He did, and although it wasn’t a surprise to me, he was overwhelmed with the results - this athlete is now getting more out of his sessions and improving every time, rather than training under a constant state of mental and physical fatigue.

It is our job as coaches to educate our athletes. We have to remember that a lot of these guys, (noted particularly with athletes I’ve trained from America and Eastern Europe) have grown up on the daily wrestling grind - and that shit from what I’ve heard is full on! They live, breath and eat wrestling, so it’s a necessary part of our job to re-educate and help them understand ​what is right for their bodies now. They have to realise they are not ages 8-18 anymore and they have to train smarter not harder!

A sample week training for some of our MMA athletes 7/8 weeks out from a fight would look something like this:

AM

MID

PM

Monday

BJJ

OFF

Sparring

Tuesday

Strength & Cond.

Mobility & Kickboxing Drills

Wrestling

Wednesday

Pad Work

Kickboxing Drills

MMA Drills/Pool recovery/OFF

Thursday

Strength & Cond.

Mobility & Kickboxing Drills

Wrestling

Friday

BJJ

OFF

Sparring/Pad Work

Saturday

Strength & Cond

OFF

Sauna/Ice Baths

Sunday

OFF

OFF

OFF

As you can see, it’s still a pretty full time table for these guys. Obviously this varies from athlete to athlete in terms of which skill training they need to focus on more, how far they are from a fight and what condition they are currently in. If their nutrition, supplements and recovery techniques aren’t on point it can lead to injury and sickness. Also intensity of the sessions vary – if I do a very hard S&C session with the athlete on Tuesday morning, I will let our head Wrestling coach know so that he can see how the athlete is in the afternoon. If he’s fatigued he may be sent to do some active recovery on a bike, or he may just do wrestling drills and no ‘live’ wrestling. It’s very important coaches’ talk to each other.

This is a plan structured for my guys and may not suit every athlete - anything can happen in fight camps and you have to be able to adjust things accordingly for a particular athlete. If you see them really fatigued, give them a full day or two off from normal training no matter what day it is. Alternatively, add some more recovery work in there.

Remember you have to be the Coach – you guide the athlete, otherwise they will be doing 5 sessions a day, I’ve seen it!!

Andrew Wood, or ‘Woody’ is a strength and conditioning coach to elite athletes around the world. Currently based in Phuket, Thailand at Tiger Muay Thai and MMA, he is the head of Strength and Conditioning. He Works with many semi-pro and pro rugby players, Muay Thai boxers, K-1 and MMA athletes from around the globe. World leading fighters of the UFC, One FC, Bellator and many other top promotions use his combat sports training programs.Instagram: @woody_visvires